The Resilience Repurposed Podcast

Episode: Veteran Resilience, Innovation, and Leadership – An Interview with Brent Parker

Host: Jeff McDaniel
Guest: Brent Parker, Owner of Resilience Repurposed LLC

🎧 Listen to the Interview

🎙️ Introduction

In this episode, Jeff McDaniel interviews Brent Parker, a combat veteran, engineer, and founder of Resilience Repurposed LLC. Brent shares the journey from military service to engineering leadership and small business ownership. They explore how military training, adversity, and a mindset of constant adaptation shape resilience, innovation, and entrepreneurial success.

🌱 Icebreakers & Personal Passions

Brent discusses his love for plants, art, reading, and spending time with family. He talks about how a bonsai tree helps him gauge his mental health and how creativity, nature, and service ground him outside of work. If he could travel anywhere, he’d visit Sri Lanka to reconnect with a friend and gain fresh perspective.

🪖 From Infantry to Engineering

Brent explains how infantry life instilled a mindset of “adapt and overcome,” essential to problem-solving in engineering and business. He draws parallels between military patrols and real-world manufacturing: planning, improvising, and stretching resources when needed.

🧠 Intelligence & Operational Planning in Business

His background in HUMINT and SIGINT taught him how to gather information before acting. Brent applies this to project planning through tools like mind mapping—especially helpful in managing ADHD and organizing engineering tasks in civilian roles and entrepreneurship.

🏗️ The Launch of Resilience Repurposed LLC

Initially starting in software consulting, Brent shifted toward physical product creation to feel more connected to his work. Today, his business spans 3D printing, laser etching, and CNC prototyping using plastics, polymers, metals, and more.

🎓 Educational & Technical Foundation

Brent holds an AAS in Welding and Building Construction and a BS in Welding Engineering Technology from Ferris State University. Inspired by material science and exposure to innovators like Mike Rowe, he pursued welding as a medium for applied science, not just skilled labor.

🤖 Robotics, CNC, and AI Integration

The conversation shifts into future tech: Brent’s building multi-axis robots, automating manufacturing, and helping family businesses evolve. He discusses cobots, collaborative design, and the potential of AI to close the skill gap in the trades.

💡 Translating Complexity for Clients

Brent explains how he breaks down technical solutions for customers by adapting to their communication style. Using analogies and sketches, he transforms client ideas into tangible CAD models and iterative prototypes they understand and trust.

🌍 Veteran Perspective & Leadership

He reflects on how military hierarchy shaped his approach to leadership, collaboration, and emotional intelligence—emphasizing learning from both good and bad leaders. Brent believes strongly in treating everyone with respect and humility, regardless of rank or title.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Business, Family, and Personal Growth

Brent discusses the balance between running a business and honoring family. After experiencing divorce, loss, and caretaking, he’s learned the importance of putting on his own “oxygen mask” first—taking care of himself to better serve others. He now helps his father and sister expand their own businesses through automation and engineering support.

⚖️ Reflections on Service, Struggle, and Self-Worth

Brent emphasizes that real strength comes from knowing when to step back, be kind to yourself, and cut ties with people or systems that no longer serve your growth. His story is one of learning through hardship, leveraging trauma into innovation, and creating meaning through service and resilience.

📌 Final Takeaway

This conversation captures what it means to be a veteran, an innovator, and a lifelong learner. Brent's journey reminds us that healing, building, and leading are not separate paths—they’re part of the same mission.

Recorded and transcribed with permission. Podcast produced by Resilience Repurposed LLC.

Situation Analysis of Resilience Repurposed LLC

Written by: Brent Parker
Business: Resilience Repurposed LLC
Program: ENT 610 – Entrepreneurial Creation
Date: April 2025

🎬 Introduction

Welcome to my situational analysis of Resilience Repurposed LLC, my entrepreneurial venture based on engineering-driven innovation, advanced fabrication technology, and creative problem-solving.

This blog provides a complete business strategy breakdown using SWOT, PESTLE, Porter’s Five Forces, and Porter’s Value Chain frameworks. It also includes embedded screencasts for each section, designed to educate and inform anyone interested in small-batch manufacturing or entrepreneurship.

🔍 Value Proposition

Resilience Repurposed LLC delivers custom-engineered, high-performance products using advanced 3D printing and CO₂ laser cutting techniques. We focus on precision, adaptability, and rapid turnaround and serve small businesses and individual innovators looking for low-volume, high-impact solutions.

This includes prototypes, tooling, personalized items, and batch production—all from a workshop rooted in lean systems, technical expertise, and quality-first values.

Reference: Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson Education.

✅ SWOT Analysis

• Strengths: Engineering and manufacturing experience, advanced 3D printing and laser technologies, customization, speed, and small-batch flexibility
• Weaknesses: Limited startup capital, small team, early-stage brand visibility
• Opportunities: Growth in demand for unique, custom-manufactured goods, local partnerships and small business collaboration, expansion into short-run production services
• Threats: Supply chain disruptions, competition in the maker/manufacturing space, shifting economic conditions impacting consumer spending

Reference: Gurel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: A theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research.

🌐 PESTLE Analysis

• Political: Tariffs and regulations affecting imported materials, incentives for reshoring manufacturing
• Economic: Inflation and material price volatility, demand shifts in small-scale fabrication
• Social: Preference for locally made, custom products, growing interest in DIY and maker culture
• Technological: Advances in additive manufacturing and CAD tools, expansion of material options
• Legal: IP considerations, compliance with safety labeling and digital delivery
• Environmental: Interest in sustainable materials, low-waste production processes

Reference: Aguilar, F. J. (1967). Scanning the Business Environment. Macmillan.

🏁 Porter’s Five Forces

• Threat of New Entrants: Moderate – accessible tools, but experience and quality are differentiators
• Supplier Power: Moderate – reliance on niche materials affects price and delivery timelines
• Buyer Power: Moderate to high – customers expect precision, customization, and competitive pricing
• Threat of Substitutes: Low – few off-the-shelf alternatives meet the same level of personalization
• Industry Rivalry: High – crowded space with makers, engineers, and Etsy-style operations

Reference: Porter, M. E. (1979). How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review.

⚙️ Porter’s Value Chain

Primary Activities:

• Inbound Logistics: Specialty filaments, substrates, and tooling
• Operations: 3D printing, CAD design, and CO₂ laser cutting
• Outbound Logistics: Shipping, digital delivery, and local drop-offs
• Marketing & Sales: Word-of-mouth, blog content, and local outreach
• Service: Consultations, customer support, and feedback loops

Support Activities:

• Procurement: Reliable sourcing at scale
• Technology: CAD software, machine calibration, and upgrades
• HR Management: Solo operator with expansion potential
• Infrastructure: Lean, workshop-based production model

Reference: Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press.

📈 Strategic Summary & Outlook

Resilience Repurposed LLC is strategically positioned to thrive in a market that values customization, speed, and technical precision. With a lean infrastructure and high-performance tools, the company is designed for agile production without compromising quality.

Future goals include increasing local visibility, building partnerships with creative agencies and product designers, and expanding into short-run commercial fabrication.

This situation analysis has helped me refine my roadmap, and I hope it will help you better understand how to evaluate your business using these proven models.

All screencasts and visuals created by Brent Parker. Citations follow APA style.